February DVD Spotlight: Films for Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, Reeves Memorial Library is highlighting films about the African-American experience all through the month of February.  We've got historical films like the slave revolt legal drama Amistad (1997), and masterful documentaries on the civil rights era such as Eyes on the Prize (1987) and A Time for Justice (1994).  In addition, we're featuring notable films about African-American figures from the fields of music, education, business, and sports, as well as films directed by African-American filmmakers such as Spike Lee and Byron Hurt.

Featured titles include:

Ali (2001)

With a towering, Oscar-nominated lead performance from Will Smith, this biopic captures the intelligence, ferocity, charisma, and larger-than-life persona that made boxer Muhammad Ali "The Greatest."

Hoop Dreams (1994)

This sprawling, documentary look at the lives of two African-American boys from inner city Chicago, as they pursue their shared dream of playing professional basketball, reveals much about the American dream and the lives of America's underprivileged communities.

Malcolm X (1992)

From writer-director Spike Lee comes this dynamic and monumental telling of the life of civil rights leader Malcolm X, featuring a powerful central performance by Denzel Washington.

Satchmo (1989)

A reverent and endearing non-fiction look at the life of legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong, featuring never-before-seen home movies and nightclub footage from the 1930s.

Slavery and the Making of America (2005)

This four-part PBS program, narrated by Morgan Freeman, examines the history of slavery in the United States and the role it played in shaping the new country's development.

Check one out today!

Throwback Thursday: Winter fun on the Hill

Seton Hill students have always taken advantage of prime opportunities to participate in winter sports. While these days you might be more likely to buy some Seven Springs vouchers and head up to the mountains, SHC students in years past kept their winter activities closer to home.

These girls went tobogganing in 1940:

The pond that used to be at the bottom of the front hill was a great spot for ice skating when the weather got and stayed cold enough (1958):

And, perhaps most fun of all, there used to be an actual rope-tow ski lift on the front hill! (This shot’s from about 1963.)

Some still preferred tobogganing, however (1963 again).

And here’s a shot from the 1985 Forward:

All in favor of bringing back the ski lift…?

Research Award Accepting Applications!

The Reeves Memorial Library Undergraduate Research Award (yes, it's a very long name) is accepting applications!

If you (or one of your students) have created a really impressive research project in the Spring 2016, Fall 2016, or Spring 2017 semester, we want to see it!

The project can be a podcast, a website, a video, a traditional research paper, or whatever other format you can think of, as long as it has a "collection research" component to it (i.e., case studies and lab work don't count, but literature reviews you did as background for them would).

For more information, application instructions, or to volunteer as a faculty evaluator, visit http://setonhill.libguides.com/award.

Spring Learning Commons & Library Hours

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

SPRING REEVES LEARNING COMMONS HOURS—JANUARY 19 – MAY 14, 2017

(EARLIER CLOSING DURING BREAKS)

            Monday – Friday                                           8:00 a.m.  -  11:50 p.m.

            Saturday                                                          9:00 a.m.  -  11:50 p.m.

            Sunday                                                            1:00 p.m.  -  11:50 p.m.

SPRING LIBRARY HOURS—JANUARY 19 – MAY 14, 2017

            Monday – Thursday                                      8:00 a.m.  -  11:50 p.m.

            Friday                                                             8:00 a.m.  -    4:50 p.m.

            Saturday                                                          9:00 a.m.  -    4:50 p.m.

            Sunday                                                            1:00 p.m.  -  11:50 p.m.

LIBRARY EXCEPTION DATES

          January 19                                                      8:00 a.m.  -     7:50 p.m. 

          February 5                                                      1:00 p.m.  -     5:00 p.m.

January Reading Theme: Short Stories

For this month, we’ve collected stories as short as J-Term! Horror, sci-fi, literary fiction-- take a few minutes and briefly explore another world.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

African Short Stories, edited by Chinua Achebe: “A selection of the best African stories written between 1960 and 1985.” (Publisher’s summary)

100 Jolts by Michael Arnzen (yes, Dr. Arnzen): “Arnzen has honed his craft to deliver the highest voltage using the fewest words in this collection of 100 short stories, guaranteed to stun.” (Publisher’s summary)

The Complete Stories by Isaac Asimov: “The first book of the definitive three-volume collection of short stories by the prolific Isaac Asimov, whose tales have delighted countless fans for over half a century--a must for every science fiction bookshelf.” (Publisher’s summary)

Ghost and Horror Stories by Ambrose Bierce: “23 modern horror stories by American master. ‘The Eyes of the Panther,’ ‘The Damned Thing,’ 21 more. ‘These pieces are not dated, nor are they lacking any of the narrative elements necessary to attract and hold the attention of anyone interested in the horror genre.’" (SF Booklog)

Uncollected Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle: “This volume contains all the known short stories by Conan Doyle which were not collected into volumes for publication during his life.” (Goodreads summary)

The Complete Short Stories by W. Somerset Maugham: “Crisply incisive, brutally honest yet gentle and sympathetic. Brilliant acerbic wit. Absolute mastery of the keenly observed short story.” (Ashby Manson, Goodreads review)

Marriages and Infidelities by Joyce Carol Oates: “Marriages and Infidelities is an example of how good JCO can be when she comes out guns blazing.” (Pamela Scott, Goodreads review)

The Short Stories of Saki (H.H. Monro) by Saki: “Miniature masterpieces with a lot to say.” (Publisher’s summary)

The Great Short Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, by R. L. Stevenson: "[We offer] to the public this collection of Great Short Stories... with the comfortable certainty that the edition... will be enjoyed by an immense public. For in this book, all you who seek delight in reading, and look for other works by storytellers who have brought you pleasure in the past, will discover new tales and adventures to beguile the hour." (Editors’ note)

The Complete Short Stories and Famous Essays of Mark Twain by Mark Twain: “I had forgotten what a great writer Twain was, and this book is an excellent reminder.” (Ben, Goodreads review)

The Music School by John Updike: “The Music School is a place of learning, in which a sheltered South Dakota boy meets his roommate at Harvard, a rebel with whom he will have a violent—and ambiguous—physical encounter; a warring married couple, Richard and Joan Maple, try and try again to find solace in sex; and Henry Bech, an unprolific American writer publicizing himself far from home, enjoys a moment of improbable, poignant, untranslatable connection with a Bulgarian poetess.” (Publisher’s summary)

A Haunted House and Other Short Stories by Virginia Woolf: “The stories found in A Haunted House reflect Virginia Woolf's experimental writing style and act as an enlightening introduction to the longer fiction of this pioneer novelist.” (Publisher’s summary)